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He's not going as far as to say that Motorola (or its ad agency) blatantly swiped his idea, but L.A.-based filmmaker Mike Sarrow thinks that the company's recent Super Bowl ad bears a few too many similarities to one of his short films to simply let slip by without a comment. That film, "Do Not Disconnect," was shot back in 2009 (and shopped around for a few years prior), and involves a world filled with "drones" wearing white earbuds who are oblivious to the real world around them and incapable of human interaction. Now, that in and of itself obviously isn't the most original of ideas, but Sarrow notes that there a few "striking" similarities beyond the general concept between the ad and his short film, particularly when it comes to the ending (which we won't spoil for you here). Adding a bit of meta-ness to the whole thing is the fact that Motorola's ad is of course a reference to Apple's famous "1984" commercial, and we all know Apple is no stranger to accusations that it's borrowed some ideas for its ads. Contrary to what you might think, however, Sarrow isn't seeking any compensation from Motorola (or even an attribution), he just wants people to see his film and make up their own mind. Judge for yourself after the break.

Motorola is in hot water over its Apple-inspired Super Bowl advertisement for its upcoming XOOM tablet. The video ad features a world of drones dressed in white hoodies who are eternally plugged into white earbuds. Of course, the one character breaking the trend is the one with a Motorola XOOM tablet who is able to free both himself and a female friend from this mindless, solitary existence.

This idea of disconnecting from a connected world is a theme that dominates a popular Indie film produced by Mike Sarrow. The filmmmaker asserts his Do Not Disconnect film has been submitted to several Indie film festivals and the plot and concept of his production has been known for several years. In an interview with Cnet, he says, "We're really disappointed that Motorola and the Anomaly New York ad agency have made their Super Bowl ad 'Empower the People' with an identical concept." Sarrow is not seeking attribution from Motorola, just recognition from the public regarding the true roots of this concept.

The videos, including Apple's classic 1984 ad, are available after the break for you to view and compare. Has Motorola borrowed from Sarrow's film or is Apple the inspiration for this ad?